A lighter is known from international patent application PCT/AT 86/00076 (filed by Werner Fiala based on an Austrian priority of Nov. 21, 1985) where a pilot flame is ignited by a spark in a standard manner and is used to heat a catalyst body to its activation temperature, that is a temperature sufficient for it to sustain combustion without needing the application of additional heat. The pilot flame is created in standard fashion by applying a spark to a jet of combustible gas, typically butane, that is issuing from a nozzle and that entrains oxygen-containing air by the venturi effect. This flame passes through the catalyst body and is snuffed out upstream once the activation temperature is reached, subsequent burning being autogenous. This type of burner is termed the primary-air or induced-air type.
The disadvantage of such a system is the high cost of making it and installing it, including forming a hole in the injector, positioning same coaxial with the venturi, and controlling pressure losses in the catalytic body. In addition the increased aeration created by the venturi injector system is overcome by the pressure loss caused by the catalytic body. The result is a loss of aeration that increases quickly as the catalytic body becomes clogged with soot and other combustion byproducts. This aeration can even be reduced by pulling in cigarette smoke when the burner is used in a cigarette lighter. All these changing factors make it impossible to accurately control the mixture at the burner and, hence, its reliable operation. It is therefore impossible to find a balance between sure ignition which on the one hand requires a relatively heavy flow and long life of the catalyst body which on the other hand requires minimal flow through it.
Another type of catalytic burner (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,189,294 and 2,997,869) uses a hydrocarbon gas with secondary air. In this type of burner the combustion air is taken by diffusion from the air around the jet of gas issuing from the nozzle. This type of burner is only operable when nothing blocks the jet of combustible gas. As a result this type of burner is only used in large devices serving to produce a large amount of heat, such as heating radiators, thermal-treatment ovens, and the like. In addition such devices are generally provided with a fairly powerful igniting system provided with its own energy source, typically an electrical resistance-type heater or a separate pilot burner. Thus this type of burner cannot be used for a small device like a cigarette lighter, curling iron, laundry iron, small space heater, or deodorizer.